Famous for his scientific research on black holes and physics, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has issued a stark warning on things that he strongly believes will lead to the demise of human civilization, and his warnings may surprise you as they are far beyond the realms of the mainstream beliefs that human civilization may well be ended by global warming.

Firstly, Hawking is fiercely wary of strong artificial intelligence (AI); Hawking strongly believes AI that exudes intelligence equal to or exceeding that of a human could destroy the human race, and was one of many scientists who wrote an open letter warning of the risks (as well as the benefits) of AI. Suddenly, all of those futuristic movies showing the destruction of humans by robots don’t seem as far-fetched, do they? The Terminator, Minority Report, Transformers, Wall-E, Austin Powers, The Matrix, Star Wars; were these movie directors sending us a message?

Hawking has also issued a stark warning about the potential cataclysmic effects of human aggression. Hawking believes our aggressive nature could result in catastrophic events that could end human civilization, such as a major nuclear war that could end all civilization and extinct the human race. With increasingly violent movies, video games and, in general, more violent behaviors within our current human civilization, sadly backed up by increasingly violent crime statistics, we would have to agree that human aggression is a major cause for concern. Could it only be a matter of time before the horrific trend of bullied teenagers opening fire on their schools escalates when these psychopathic adults decide to go one step further and bomb the whole world?

Last but not least, Hawking has expressed concerns about alien life. Hawking believes that if intelligent alien life does indeed exist, it likely won’t be friendly towards humans, and could aim at conquering and colonizing whatever planets they visit. With so many alien movies release, many people believe this is the government’s way of familiarizing us with the fact that aliens are, in fact, real and will try and wipe out our human race. But, will these aliens be green bug-eyed monsters or will they look just like you and I? We can’t help but visualize those scenes from The Men In Black movies…

We’d love to hear your opinion on which of the above you think is the biggest threat to the human race; or perhaps even a fourth threat that has not yet been identified?

About The Author

Sophie has worked for many years as a columnist, blogger and content writer for a vast variety of publications and brands. As well as having her own monthly column in a leading UK magazine, Sophie is regularly commissioned to write all types of content for medium and major corporations across the globe. She has a passionate curiosity in non-mainstream science, psychology and the world around us.